Saturday, May 25, 2013

The Spa at Winter Beach

My seaside novella, The Spa at Winter Beach, has a new cover! You like?

As for me, I love the model's dress. Teen Girl and I shopped in Santa Barbara today and I bought a few things that are "perf" for summer. Life is hard, peeps! So it's good to celebrate the little things--and for me, that was having lunch and going shopping with my sweet youngest.

I do hope you like my book's new cover. It's the story of jilted home stager, Juliana Moss, who hopes spending a week at The Spa at Winter Beach on the California coast will cure her broken heart. Will a chance meeting with a mysterious stranger offer healing ... or reopen old wounds?

It's available on Kindle and Nook for only $1.99.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Throwback Thursday -- Lady and the Sea



You've seen it on Instagram and Facebook, so why not a Throwback Thursday post on Blogger? Here's a post from 2011. Enjoy!

(The long weekend is coming ... and with it, a cool cover reveal from me. See you then!)


I'm beyond happy to introduce you to my cyber-friend, Sharon Leaf! We met via this blog, and since then we've corresponded many times here and on Facebook--and Sharon even interviewed me on her BlogTalk Radio program last January. Now she has her own book out, Lady and the Sea. Is she a woman after my own heart or what? She's a kick to know, so please read on ... and have a beachy weekend, my friends ~ wherever you are!

Here's Sharon ~

Since turning forty, Sharon Leaf has traveled to over fifteen countries, including living in Sweden while attending an international Bible college, traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway, and volunteering on a World War II ship, whose sole purpose was to transport Russian Jews from the Black Sea to Israel. She received a degree in theology at sixty, proving that it's never too late to fulfill another dream. Lady and the Sea is Sharon's debut novel. She lives in South Carolina with her husband.

Sharon hopes that Lady and the Sea will encourage readers as they struggle through their rip-tides and hurricanes of life that there is a silver lining and smooth sailing ahead as we rely on the Captain of our ship ~ Jesus!


About Lady and the Sea


After two failed marriages forty-eight-year-old Rosie Atkisson struggles through the painful process of rebuilding her life with husband, Jesse, in Southern California. But the settled rhythm of her newfound comfort is interrupted by a tug in her heart when she encounters a haunting photo of another aging lady, the World War II vessel MS Restoration.

A special mission to transport Russian Jews from Sochi, Russia to Haifa, Israel, means an adventure of a lifetime; does she dare pass up this dangerous assignment that will take her thousands of miles from her family and comfortable life? In spite of her fear of water and the unknown condition of the ship, Rosie thinks this might be the opportunity she’s been waiting for to serve God.

After surviving fourteen months on board the old ship, from a hurricane to a heart attack, from miracles to menopause, and now being held at gunpoint in the Haifa Harbor, Rosie wonders if she will ever return to her own safe harbor.

Excerpt from Chapter One ~ July 1995

Within minutes of entering the Haifa harbor, an Israeli gunboat sped from the port and circled the World War II vessel. Two soldiers aimed their deck-mounted machine guns at the MS Restoration. An Israeli soldier shouted instructions through a loud speaker in his native Hebrew.

The ship, the crew, and their special passengers--the Russian Jews--had finally reached their destination. No more troubled waters. No more hurricanes. No more delays. On this hot July morning, they were home-free, or so they thought.

Rosie had heard stories about people who had experienced close-call situations. Her seventy-year-old father once told her about the time his ship almost went down in the China Sea during the war. “At that moment, my whole life passed before me,” he said.

Now, as the Israeli soldiers glared at the Restoration through their high-tech binoculars, Rosie knew this was her moment.

You can pick up your own copy of Lady and the Sea at Amazon and other booksellers.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Hello again ... and a Freebie

It's EMBARRASSING how little I've written on the blog lately. I'm happy to announce, though, that my story for the upcoming Guideposts Books Christmas anthology has been written and turned in ... woo! Postcards at Christmas tells the story of how a young woman's search for a miracle brings a dying town to life. I cried at the ending! And not because I was writing a Christmas story in 80+ degree heat - haha.

I'll let you know when it shows up in stores.

On another note, it's nearly summer and time for a sale. My oldie but goodie, Chocolate Beach, is FREE on Kindle today (Friday) and Saturday. If you don't have a Kindle, but you do have an iPad or iPhone, you can download the app for free at Amazon ~ then order any Kindle book you want!

Chocolate Beach will be free on Kindle at this AMAZON LINK today and tomorrow.